Kanye West Throws Tantrum Backstage at VMAs

Kanye West prides himself on being an educated, thinking man's rapper, a class act a cut above the typical gangsta-thug lyfe hip-hop fare.

That he may be. But he's also a raging, petulant egomaniac.

West has been on the warpath since being blanked at the MTV Video Music Awards yet again, taking issue with the voters as well as the program itself, chiding an unprepared Britney Spears as well as his own relegation to performing in a Palms luxury suite rather than the main stage.

And that's just on the record.

The rage of Kanye West is evident in a video sweeping the Internets, in which the rapper has a backstage meltdown punctuated by profanities toward MTV ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-631TgPP2s[/youtube]

Yikes. Accentuating the positives (if there are any), MTV responded to Kanye West's blistering criticism about his treatment by lavishing him with praise.

"MTV has a long and collaborative relationship with Kanye and we hope and look forward to continuing that meaningful relationship," MTV' said in a statement.

Good to see they're taking the high road. Hopefully, Alexis Phifer can convince her talented, arrogant fiance to do the same.